Andorran delegation again comes top for voting at PACE

Parliamentarians from Andorra, Switzerland and Sweden voted most often in plenary debates of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) during 2016, according to statistics made public today.

A “league table” of the voting rates of national delegations, appearing in an annual survey prepared for the Assembly’s Bureau, shows that Andorra’s four-member delegation – two representatives and two substitutes – cast just over 92 per cent of the maximum number of all possible votes across the year, the best record for the third consecutive year.

Other national delegations with high voting turnouts included the twelve-strong Swiss delegation (which took part in just over 81 per cent of all votes), the Swedish delegation with twelve members (over 77 per cent) and Norway’s ten-member delegation (over 69 per cent).

The figures show a decline in overall voting rates compared to previous years, however. Some 22 national delegations – out of the 46 which currently make up the Assembly – voted less than a quarter of the time.

The statistics also covered the participation of members of national parliamentary delegations in plenary sessions and committee meetings.

The Assembly adopted 71 texts during 2016, of which 59 were adopted at plenary sessions. However, the figures also include votes on many individual amendments.